Question 67 AEL01 - Assistant Engineer - Limited

The Correct Answer is D **Why Option D is Correct:** Low lube oil pressure in a running engine is a critical emergency indicator. Lubricating oil is essential for cooling, cleaning, and, most importantly, preventing metal-to-metal contact between moving parts (like bearings, pistons, and journals). If the pressure drops significantly below the required operating level, the film of oil separating these surfaces fails almost instantly. Continuing to run the engine, even for a short time, will cause severe friction, rapid overheating, and catastrophic damage (e.g., scoring of cylinder liners, wiping out of main or connecting rod bearings), potentially leading to total engine failure. Therefore, the immediate and mandatory action is to **immediately shut down the engine** to prevent irreversible damage, followed by a thorough investigation of the cause (e.g., failed pump, ruptured line, clogged filter, critically low sump level). **Why the Other Options are Incorrect:** * **A) Reduce the load and speed on the engine and continue to monitor the oil pressure.** Reducing load and speed might slightly decrease the rate of damage, but it does not stop the underlying problem of insufficient lubrication. Monitoring the pressure while the engine continues to run risks catastrophic failure while you wait for the pressure to drop further or the temperature to spike. The engine must be stopped immediately. * **B) Monitor closely oil pressures, temperatures, and levels while continuing to run the engine.** This approach is essentially monitoring the engine as it destroys itself. Low oil pressure demands immediate intervention (shutdown), not passive monitoring, because the time frame for critical damage is extremely short (seconds to minutes). * **C) Immediately add make-up oil or service lube oil coolers, strainers, and filters, as appropriate.** While these maintenance actions (adding oil, servicing components) address potential causes, attempting to perform them *while the engine is running and actively suffering from low pressure* is dangerous, time-consuming, and will not resolve the immediate lack of lubrication. The engine must be secured (shut down) first before any investigation or remedial maintenance can begin safely and effectively.